Wrench



NOV. 4-, 1941. c PRITCHETT 2,261,450

WRENCH Filed Feb. 26, 1940 I WE a A RE/VCE L. PIP/766M577".

Patented Nov. 4, 1941 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE WRENCH Clarence L. Pritchett, Huntington Park, Calif.

Application February 26, 1940, Serial No. 320,784

3 Claims. (CL 81-106) My invention relates to wrenches of the general of the nut used in connection with the strap that type disclosed in U. S. Letters Patent No. 504,698 carries the movable jaw.

issued September 12, 1893; No. 1,570,627 issued r ng by numerals to the accompanying January 26, 1926; and No. 1,728,282 issuel Sepdrawing which illustrates apreferred embodiment tember 17, 1929. 5 of my invention, l0, l0 designate the parallel The principal objects of my invention are, to legs of the wrench handle, which legs are prefergenerally improve upon and simplify the conly formed in a single piece from a metal rod struction of wrenches of the type disclosed in the or bar either round or polygonal in cross section above mentioned patents and to provide a quick and which is bent double or, said handle may be acting wren h t t may be easily and quickly stamped or cast in a single piece from suitable adjusted so as to fit the nuts, pipes and other m parts that are engaged by the jaws of the wrench Rigidly fixed by mea s of rivets n y Suitand further, to provide a wrench of the character able mantler t0 the w d ds of the s l0 referred to that shall be simple in construction, of the handle is a w ll having a Work engaging strong and durable, comparatively light in weight face that is preferably bed r co ated and inexpensive f manufactur and which, if desired, may be slightly inclined A further object of my invention is, to provide With respect t0 the major S of the a dle.

a, wrench t t in t become clogged and Mounted for longitudinal sliding movement on operative as aresult of rust and the accumulation the members in forming the handle s a bof foreign substances such as dirt and congealed stantially U-shaped strap of metal, the free ends grease and 1 upon the movable parts of the of said strap terminating above the uppermost wrench and which objectionable conditions are one Of the legs a d passing through the free very frequently found in wrenches of the type ends of this Strap is a P rivet formin the subject matter of the above men- The rear end portion of a hood i5 that is o ti patents inverted U-shape in cross section is positioned A further object of my invention is, to provide between the upwardly projecting end portions wrench having the general Shape and appear of the strap 13 and rivet I4 is rigidly seated in ance of a conventional pipe wrench and which the rear portions of the side walls of this hood. will also function effectively as a monkey Wrench pivoted Oh the Pin rivet it between the Side and/0r, angle or crescent headed wrenches ha walls of hood I5 is the inner end of a short shank m one fix d and one movable jaw. 16 that overlies the upper one of the legs ID of With the foregoing and other objects in view, the wrhhch handle and the forward end of this my invention consists in certain novel features of shank extended downward and shaped to form construction and arrangement of parts that will a jaw having a ribbed Corrugated face is be hereinafter more fully described and claimed 135 that opposes the corrugated face on fixed and illustrated in the accompanying drawing in Jaw h h; A portion of the rear end of shank IE or that Fig" 1 is a perspective View of a wrench end that is pivoted in the rear portion of the structed in accordance with my invention. hood is cut away to form a notch and F1'g 2 is a side elevational View of the forward 40 positioned in said notch and bearing on the under ti of t wrench w parts thereof in face of the upper rear portion of the hood l5 tical section is an expansive spring 20 whichyieldingly resists Fig. 3 is a vertical cross section taken on the downward movement 9 shd.mg Jaw "I line of Fig t Under normal conditions spring 20 maintains Fig. 4 is an enlarged cross section taken on th i a gt ih igg g5 ha d l d aii d E i ZO iii' s i line 4 of Fig. 2. tioned, the under face of said shank is spaced g cross sectloh taken on the a slight distance above the upper end of fixed jaw P ll so that when the wrench is engaged on a tube 6 is a parslaectlve View Of a Strap that IS or rod, the movable jaw I! may swing downward mounted for Shthhg movement on the Wrench a short distance on its axis, the rivet I4, after handle and which carries the movable jaw. the manner of a conventional pipe wrench.

Fig. 7 1s a perspective view of a nut that is The upper portions of the legs of strap 13 are associated with the movable jaw carrying strap. extended a short distance forwardly of the front Fig. 8 is a perspective view of a. modified form edges of the-lower portions of said legs in order to provide shoulders |3a which when the strap carrying the shank I6 and sliding jaw I1 is moved forward to its limit of movement, engage the sides of the upper rear portion of the fixed jaw H and thus, the lower portions of the legs of the strap are spaced apart from the lower portion of said jaw so as to eliminate any tendency of strains imparted to the sliding jaw to impart tilting movement to the strap I3 and t the fixed jaw II while the upper portions of the legs of said strap are in engagement with the upper portion of said fixed jaw.

Formed on the inner faces of the legs of strap I3 just below those portions of the legs that receive the hood I5 and rear portion of shank I6 are inwardly presented lugs 2| that co-operate to provide a bearing for the upper one of the legs I0 of the Wrench handle during the sliding movement of the strap upon said handle.

In order to reduce friction between the parts during sliding movement thereof and to provide clearance for dirt, congealed oil, grease, or the like, the curved faces of the lugs 2| that provide bearings for the upper member of the wrench handle are provided with longitudinally disposed grooves 22. Practically this same construction is employed at the lower end of the strap I3 for the lower member Ill of the handle, but instead of providing lugs such as 2|, the entire lower end of the yoke I3 is increased in thickness and the inner curved face of thickened portion which engages the lower leg of the handle is provided with longitudinally disposed grooves 23.

In the construction of the strap or yoke I3, I prefer to form the same from malleable cast metal in order to enable the legs of the strap to be spread apart during the assembly of the parts of the wrench and then by pressure forcing said legs into parallel arrangement before the rivet I4 is set and headed.

A trunnion 24 is formed on the rear end of a threaded rod that occupies a position between the legs III of the handle and said trunnion has bearing in that portion of the rod that connect the rear ends of the members III of the handle and the forward end of said threaded rod bears directly against the rear face of fixed jaw This screw rod is preferably formed in a single piece and has its forward portion provided with a buttress thread 26, the fiat face of which is rearwardly presented and the rear portion of said rod is provided with a double V thread 21.

In order to impart rotary motion to the screw rod, a nut 28 is mounted on that portion of said rod having the double V thread 21 and formed in'the top and bottom of said nut are grooves 29 for the reception of the members II] of the handle. The outer side faces of nut 28 are provided with vertically disposed ribs 30 or said surfaces may be milled or corrugated in order to enable the nut to be more firmly engaged by the thumb and fingers of the operators hand.

The double V thread 21 may be cut on the rear portion of the rod or, if desired, the rear portion of the rod when manufactured may be substantially diamond shape in cross section and then twisted so as to produce the double thread.

In order to transmit rotary motion of the threaded shaft to the strap I3 that carries the sliding jaw, a nut 3| is mounted on the portion of the rod having the buttress thread 26 and said nut being located between the members II] of the handle and between the sides of the strap I3. Formed in the top and bottom of this nut are grooves 32 for the accommodation of the members ID of the handle and formed in the faces of said grooves 32 are smaller grooves 33 which materially reduces the area of the bearing surfaces between the members I0 and the nut.

In order to retain the nut 3| in operative position between the side members of strap I3, lugs 34 are formed integral with and project inwardly from the inner faces of the side walls of the strap and said lugs engage in corresponding recesses 35 that are formed in the side faces of nut 3|.

In some instances, the nut 3| may be dispensed with and threads for the reception of the buttress thread 26 may be stamped or formed on the inner faces of the side walls of the strap I3.

As illustrated in Fig. 2, the straight shoulder on the buttress thread is rearwardly presented, which construction is particularly applicable in pipe wrenches, but for monkey wrenches the flat face or shoulder on the thread should be forwardly presented.

Further in some instances, it may be found desirable to form the double V thread on the opening through nut 28 and with grooves formed on the rear portion of the rotating rod, which arrangement is the reverse of that illustrated in Fig. 2.

In the manipulation of my improved wrench, the sliding or movable jaw I! may be quickly adjusted toward or away from fixed jaw II by engaging the nut 28 between the thumb and index finger and moving said nut along the members II] of the handle, thereby imparting quick rotary movement to the threaded shaft with the result that the buttress thread engaging nut 3| will move the latter, the yoke I3, together with hood I5, shank I6 and jaw II, lengthwise upon the handle so that the work may be received between the jaws II and I1.

The particularly advantageous features of my improved construction are, the quick acting adjustment of the movable jaw, the simplicity of manufacture and assembly of the entire wrench and particularly the strap or yoke that carries the sliding jaw and the grooving of the strap and the nut 3| so as to minimize friction of the sliding parts and the minimizing of tendency of clogging of the sliding parts due to accumulations of rust, dirt, congealed grease, oil, and the like.

Thus it will be seen that I have provided a wrench that is relatively simple in construction, inexpensive of manufacture and very effective in performing the functions for which it is intended.

In my improved wrench, it is to be noted that the U-shaped strap or yoke which is formed of malleable metal is capable of being easily and quickly applied to the wrench handle and that the shank I6 that carries the movable jaw II is extended over the fixed jaw I I and connected to the upper portion of the yoke or strap, thereby eliminating time, labor and consequent expense that would otherwise be involved if the fixed jaw I I were extended upwardly and provided with a square hole for the reception of the shank and which construction is found in a number of wrenches of the type to which my invention relates.

In Fig. 8 I have illustrated a modified form of the nut that is utilized with the strap I3 that carries the movable jaw IT.

This form of nut is formed from a single piece of strap metal bent to form a substantially rec- 1. In a wrench, a handle comprising parallel I members integrally connected at one end, a jaw secured to the opposite end of said handle, a rod mounted for rotation on said handle and arranged between the parallel portions thereof, a quick acting thread formed on a portion of said rod, a nut arranged for sliding movement between the parallel portions of the handle and provided with a threaded opening for the reception of that portion of the rod having the quick acting thread, those portions of the nut that engage the parallel portions of the rod being provided with grooves that are disposed parallel with each other and with the axes of the parallel rods, a substantially U-shaped strap arranged for sliding movement on said handle, a shank pivotally connected to one end of said U-shaped strap, a jaw carried by said shank and disposed opposite the fixed jaw on said handle, a nut carried by said strap and disposed between the parallel portions of said handle and a thread formed on said rod in advance of said quick acting thread for engaging the nut carried by said strap.

2. A wrench as set forth in claim 1, with bearings formed on said strap for engaging the parallel portions of said handle and said bearings being provided with grooves that are disposed parallel to the axes of the parallel portions of said handle.

3. In a wrench, a handle comprising parallel members integrally connected at one end, a jaw mounted on the opposite ends of said parallel members, a rod mounted for rotation between said parallel members, the ends of which rod bear respectively on the integrally connected ends of said parallel members and upon the rear face of the jaw carried by said members, a thread formed on the forward portion of said rod, a quick acting thread formed on the rear portion of said rod, a yoke mounted for sliding movement on said parallel members, grooved bearings formed on said yoke for said parallel members the faces of which grooved bearings are provided with grooves that are disposed parallel with each other and parallel with the handle members, a hood secured to the upper end of said yoke, a

1 shank pivoted to the upper portion of said yoke and having its rear portion disposed within said hood, a jaw on the forward end of said shank, which jaw opposes the jaw carried by said parallel members, an expansive spring interposed between the rear portion of said shank and said hood, a nut mounted on that portion of the rod having the quick acting thread and having sliding engagement with the parallel members of the handle and the faces of said nut that have sliding engagement with the parallel members of the handle being provided with longitudinally disposed grooves that are parallel with each other and with the parallel members of the handle.

CLARENCE L. PRITCHE'I'I. 

